What Hurts the Most
by Jenna Caine
Summary: A rainy day in Miami. Perfect weather for visiting a grave. Jenna visits Tim Speedle's grave and breaks down crying. What happens when Eric finds her and takes her home? Songfic of "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts. Eric/OC. ONESHOT!


**Jenna:Okay, peoples, be nice to me, this is my very first ever songfic, based on the song from Rascal Flatts called "What Hurts the Most". This interpretation was inspired by the music video of said song...**

**Eric:(nudges Jenna in the ribs) Hey, don't forget to tell them about you and Speedle, so they aren't confused...**

**Jenna:Oh, yeah, thanks. (shoves Eric's elbow away) Don't do that, by the way... Anyway, the basic idea is that my character, Jenna Caine, and Tim Speedle went out for quite a while before Speedle started trying to ease it off. The reason why? ...Read the fic and find out! Lol Also, this was originally just going to be fluff, but uh... I guess the two lovebirds had other ideas... It kinda got away from me... (sweatdrop)  
**

**And yes, Jenna has a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, and just so you know, Eric drives a black Ford F-150. Now. On with the fic!**

--

**What Hurts the Most**

The redhead hunched down against her Kawasaki Ninja, the rain trailing like tears down her helmet.

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house_

_That don't bother me_

_I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out…_

Pulling up to the curb and shutting off the engine, she set the kickstand and pulled her helmet off. Setting the helmet down on the bike, she entered the cemetery, the rain quickly plastering her wavy red hair to her scalp. By the time she came to a halt, her face was soaked with more than just rain…

___I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while_

___Even though goin' on with you gone_

___Still upsets me…_

Pausing for a moment, Jenna swallowed hard, then sank to her knees next to the headstone.

**-Timothy Speedle-**

_____What hurts the most_

_____Was bein' so close_

_____And havin' so much to say_

_____And watchin' you walk away…_

"God, Tim… I miss you so much. We had our differences, yeah, but we were still so similar… I'm sorry… but I still don't understand…" she whispered, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the rain as she knelt there, ignoring the fact that she was kneeling in mud.

_______And never knowin'_

_______What could have been_

_______And not seein' that lovin' you_

_______Is what I was tryin' to do…_

"I loved you so much, Tim… But I could never tell you… And now I can't… God, it's all I can do just to keep going to work without you…"

_________It's hard to deal with the pain of losin' you everywhere I go_

_________But I'm doin' it_

_________It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone_

_________Still harder, getting' up, getting' dressed, livin' with this regret_

_________But I know if I could do it over_

_________I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart_

_________That I left unspoken_

___________What hurts the most_

___________Was bein' so close_

___________And havin' so much to say_

___________And watchin' you walk away_

___________And never knowin'_

___________What could have been_

___________And not seein' that lovin' you_

___________Is what I was tryin' to do…_

"Jenna…? Hey, come on… It's not good for you to be sitting here in the rain…" Jenna looked up to see Eric standing next to her, holding out a hand. "…I know that… But… God, I can't help it!" she said quietly, looking back down. "I know… I miss him too, Jenna… But getting yourself sick won't bring him back," he murmured. Jenna nodded and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She rested a hand on top of the headstone.

_____________What hurts the most_

_____________Is bein' so close_

_____________And havin' so much to say_

_____________And watchin' you walk away_

_____________And never knowin'_

_____________What could have been_

_____________And not seein' that lovin' you_

_____________Is what I was tryin' to do…_

"Goodbye, Tim…" she whispered brokenly, then allowed Eric to pull her to his side and lead her away.

Eric kept his arm around Jenna's waist as he led her to his truck. Her bike was already strapped into the bed. "Come on. Let me take you home…" he whispered in her ear. "But… Eric, I'm gonna get the inside of your cab all muddy…" she protested, and Eric shook his head, helping her up into the cab. "Don't worry about it, Jenna. I'll clean up later," he assured her.

--

A little while later, they pulled up to another curb. "Huh? I-I thought you said you were taking me home, Eric…" Jenna commented. Eric helped her down and led her up the stairs to his condo. "Relax, Jenna… I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight, so you can have my bed, okay?" Jenna fought to smile, and finally succeeded. "Thanks, Eric."

While Jenna was in the bathroom stripping out of her mud-caked clothes, Eric rummaged through his dresser. Pulling out an old pair of pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt, he approached the bathroom door and knocked. "Go ahead and wear these, tonight, alright?" he called through the door, then nearly choked when Jenna opened it.

"Thanks again, Eric…" she said quietly, her fine, wavy red hair curling softly over her shoulders as it dried, partially concealing her basic black bra. Eric's breath caught in his throat as his dark gaze traced a tendril of hair, then dropped down to rake across her smooth abdomen before catching on the edge of her panties. He had enough time to realize how tight his jeans felt before jerking his gaze back to the clothes in his arms.

"Here," he said quietly, holding them out to her, averting his eyes. She took the clothes and gave him a quick hug before disappearing back into the bathroom. Eric shook his head vigorously, letting out a deep breath as he backed away from the door. He winced slightly as each movement made the denim brush against him. "God… Dammit, Delko. Calm down… She was Speedle's girl… Gah, it wouldn't be right…" he muttered to himself, sitting down suddenly on the edge of the bed. He ran a hand over his face, then sat back, bracing himself with his elbows.

He swallowed hard when he heard the bathroom door open. Jenna approached the bed, a little hesitantly, Eric's T-shirt slipping down off one shoulder. "Eric…?" she whispered, and Eric hardly moved, except for his chest rising and falling as he breathed. His dark eyes smoldered with barely-suppressed lust as he watched his dead best friend's girl.

"Eric, I… I'm so confused…" she admitted as she sat down next to him. He still didn't move, almost afraid to breathe. His boss's sister, the woman he had come to love, was in his condo, in his bedroom, wearing his clothes…

Mentally cursing the tightness of his jeans, he finally moved, sitting up and gently, hesitantly, sliding his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She shivered slightly and rested her head against his strong chest. As her body relaxed against his, her soft curves fitting perfectly against him, he stiffened slightly. _Okay, Delko… That was a mistake… _he thought with an inward grimace. "Hey, Eric…?" he heard, and looked down, squarely into Jenna's vivid blue eyes. "Y-yeah? What is it?" he responded, and her arms around his waist tightened. "Help me, please… I'm so scared…" she whispered. "And it hurts so much…" When Eric's dark eyes widened in shock, she took a deep breath and, before she could lose her nerve, stretched upwards and pressed her lips softly, hesitantly, against his.

When he finally let her break the kiss, she pulled back less than an inch and gazed at him. "Oh my God… Eric… I… Now I realize what Tim was trying to do, before… before he was killed…" Eric quirked an eyebrow. "He knew he wasn't right for me, and he was trying to get this to happen between you and me… He… could tell…"

Eric smiled softly. "Sounds like Speed, alright…" he whispered, then lowered his head to cover her lips with his once more. Jenna allowed her eyes to close in bliss…

_______________Not seein' that lovin' you_

_______________Is what I was tryin' to do…_

**--End--**

**Jenna:Okay, please R and R! Thanks!**

**Eric:(hugs Jenna and waves at readers) Reviews are more than welcome, but please, for the sake of whatever sanity Jenna has left, NO FLAMES!**

**Jenna:(swats at Eric) Hey! (laughs) I do too have SOME sanity left!**


End file.
